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by UnavailableName
Summary: Proper summary coming soon. "If I wasn't like this, things wouldn't have turned this way…" Akashi x OC (Tomonaga Iori)
1. Chapter 1: part 1

_"If I wasn't like this, things wouldn't have turned this way…"_

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**Chapter 1: part 1**

Nine years ago, on a peaceful afternoon in the Akashi household… 

Face to face, a child and a senile old man were sitting in the traditional Japanese posture, cards laid out in front of them. And perhaps, a lot more cards were on the child's side. Both were also wearing a traditional garment: the hakama. The child was completely focused while the old man enjoyed seeing the young girl's spirit towards the game.

「世のな…」

As the beginning of a poem was recited, a card flew past the child while she was in the position of snatching it from its initial place. Bitter, the little girl exclaimed: "Ojii-san! That was my last card. It's unfair that you always win!" The old man chuckled while gathering back the cards to put them in a wooden box made of bamboo. "There's nothing wrong with losing, dear. You'll just keep improving every time you face me. And one day, you will certainly achieve that goal of yours," he smiled gently while teaching her a life lesson.

Tomonaga Iori did not understand any of the old man's wise words. Yet, she understood perfectly everything about karuta. So, she blinked at him blankly. The old man sighed.

"That's enough for today," he said. "I'm sure Seijuurou is bored watching us play. Won't you play with him?"

A red head was peering from the paper sliding door, shogi set in hands. The girl turned her head to look at him and frowned. "I'm going to lose to Sei-chan again! It's no fun," she complained. "I'm not even good at shogi…"

The young boy sat in front of Iori and laid out the shogi set, ignoring the little girl's last remark. "That's not true. I'll help you become better." He smiled much to Iori's pout. "Someone, save me…!" she thought. A game of shogi with Akashi Seijuurou was always hell. Not only does he win every time, but a match can easily take more than an hour. Being the hyper kid Iori was, she cannot stand sitting in seiza style while moving only her arm to move the shogi pieces. That's why karuta was more fitting for her personality. Swinging the cards away with the body, protecting them with a hand, karuta was much more physically demanding than shogi.

Everyday, Iori would come at 1PM to the Akashi household to play karuta with Seijuurou's grandfather, a former king of karuta, since Seijuurou was homeschooled until 2:30. Iori's dream was to be the queen of karuta, so she trained with the old man daily. She would also play shogi with Seijuurou, but it was never her thing. The story about how they both met each other seemed too distant. Too blurry to distinguish the details or it was probably forgotten. And so, karuta and shogi were the only games they played during her stay. Sometimes, they would go out horsing. Unfortunately, both were still too short to ride a horse on their own, so they would go back to play shogi or karuta until they're tired. Finally, Iori's mother would come to pick her up at 6PM.

This routine would repeat until one day…

"Iori! Grandfather bought me a basketball! Wanna play?"

As Seijuurou invited her with enthusiasm, she was lying lazily on the tatami floor. "Basketball? What's that?" the young girl asked, while reading the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu on the karuta cards.

"It's a game where giants play! I saw it on TV the other day. They throw the ball to a hoop and they gain points like that."

Not caring what Seijuurou has to say, the young girl just hummed a sound, showing her lack of interest.

"Come on, you lazy log! It's a simple game! And it's fun!" he added. "You wouldn't know if you don't try! Come on!" he insisted while pulling her black hair gently.

Suddenly, the red head had an idea. He did not want to resort to this argument, but he had no choice to get Iori play with him. "Grandfather says trying new stuff isn't a bad thing," he smirked and waited for her reaction.

Immediately, the young girl gave all her attention to the cunning boy. As soon as he mentioned anything about his grandfather, Iori would comply. To her, Seijuurou's grandfather was like a god, partly because he was once the king of karuta, but also because she didn't have a father. Her father went out one late night and never came back. The situation was reported to the police station and they tried to find him by issuing a national notice, but it was as if he disappeared without leaving a trace. So, Seijuurou's grandfather was like a dad to her despite his old age. He taught her many things and treated her like he would treat Seijuurou. She adored him and he did too since Seijuurou is an only child, but also a male. The old man had wished for a daughter for many decades. However, Seijuurou's father was his only son. And he, too, had an only child, who is now Akashi Seijuurou.

Outside in the setting sun, at the park near the mansion, Seijuurou taught Iori how to play basketball (which limited to shooting). He couldn't wait to have a partner to compete with. Because the red head was homeschooled, he didn't have many friends. Heck, Iori was probably his only friend… A precious friend with whom he cherished every moment of his childhood from 1PM to 6PM.  
Mornings weren't exactly pleasurable. His father was a strict man, in contrast to the king of karuta who was more sympathetic, and the teacher was also academically demanding. Seijuurou had to be very competent and modeled after his father's ideal in order to be called an Akashi. As for the mother, the child never mentioned anything about her, so Iori didn't dare to question him. Perhaps, she was also non-existent like her own father…

"SEI-CHAN, SEICHAN-! I NEVER KNEW THIS "BASKETBALL" THING CAN BE SO FUN!" the black-haired girl exclaimed with a wide grin as large as the Cheshire cat, contradicting totally what her emotions showed earlier. "Let's keep playing basketball forever!" she added, shooting another time.

The boy, amused by her sudden change of interest, was delighted to hear that. Thanks to him, Iori had found another interest other than karuta; basketball. Though it was not as simple as what they have imagined - shooting to gain points, they continued to practice in hopes to become like the giants they saw on the TV. 


	2. Chapter 1: part 2

**I just realised I'm pretty slow at updating, lul.  
But yeah, I think it's really gonna be an update every two weeks since I'm very busy with school and other activities related to school. And I also have a part-time job as an illustrator. I am verrrrry sorry for those that like my story so far and for those who don't, constructive reviews are welcomed! Actually, from whoever it is, always! I find my writing style kind of strange...  
I know the story from the beginning til the end, buttttttttttt skfl;dskfsd; it's hard putting them into words.  
Especially in English. (Since I speak/write in French 89% of the day, hahaha.)**

Kuroko no Basuke does not belong to me. Fujimaki owns it.  
If anybody reads the manga, OMFG. I WANNA SHARE MY FEELS.

Ok, i stahp babbling.  
Enjoy.  
I'M SORRY IF IT'S SHORT. Orz  
But yeah, chapter 1 wasn't over yet. ;D 

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**Chapter 1: part 2  
**  
_The summer before the beginning of their middle school life…_

"Hey Iori."

"Hm? Wutsupp?" she answered, lying lazily on the tatami floor while snacking on potato chips. It seemed like a deja vu, minus the bag of chips... Oh, and she was once again reading the poems. Hence, a deja vu...

Seijuurou was used to this scene whenever they weren't playing karuta or basketball.  
And of course, when they had a match of shogi, her attitude was no less different.  
Nevertheless, he kind of liked it, in contrast to his neat and uptight personality.

"Which middle school did you apply to?"

"Same as you. Teikou," she replied.

The boy raised an eyebrow. "I thought you couldn't afford the tuition fees?"

"Ojii-san told me he'll pay half of it. He wants me to watch over you," the words flowed out of her mouth the most naturally ever.

Dumbfounded, the red head looked at her with astonishment. He must have misheard. Watch over him? No. No, no, no. That is rubbish. No matter how you look at it, the most problematic child between the both of them is Iori. _Is grandfather trying to joke around?_

"That is rather amusing," the red head finally said.

"Wut is?" Still munching on chips. "Besides, don't they have a nice basketball club? We can join it and finally get to play in a team!" Flashing a grin towards the red head.

"That is indeed true... but I am rather curious about the fact that I would need someone _like you_ to watch over me." Seijuurou said, provoking the young girl that was now shooting him a menacing pair of magenta eyes.

"You pickin' a fight, buddy?" And she threw him a karuta card.

"Rather, shouldn't it be the opposite?" The boy picked the card up that was thrown at him and sighed. "You're such a troublesome child..."

The statement made the black-haired girl a little bit upset. She pouted and hid her face with her arms on the floor.

"Well, sorry for being a troublesome kid. I just wanted us to stay together..."

For a moment, she hesitated, not sure whether to say it or not. The pause seemed to last a few minutes wherein fact, it was only a second.

"But, we'll...we'll always be together right?" she said, as she raised her head to look directly at the boy who was sitting in front of her on the tatami floor. "I don't want to be separated from Sei-chan."

Many things were circulating in her mind. Somehow, she is starting to become anxious. To Iori, attending middle school was something she feared despite her stubborn and strong personality. Like Seijuurou, she had very few friends. Because of the disappearance of her father early during her childhood, nothing seems to be standing in place in her life. She rarely attended elementary school. In order for her to graduate, her mother bowed down deeply to the principle to allow Iori to study at home and pass the exams at school. Life was hard for them. Fortunately, Iori's mother did not become abusive. She stayed the same, caring and understanding...Except, she became more and more tired everyday working in the office for long hours to meet the needs of the family. When Iori's mother heard the Akashi will be financing half of her daughter's tuition fees at Teikou Middle School, she was extremely grateful and may God bless them.

The red head smiled gently at Iori. The warm smile she had always liked. "Of course not. We'll join the same club."

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"H-HOLD ON! HOW IS IT THAT WE CAN'T BE IN THE SAME TEAM?!"

In the blink of an eye, both children started attending middle school. However, a week following the entrance ceremony, Iori is already facing a problem that threatens to tear the both of them apart… or so she thought...


End file.
